LIBERALS GO SILENT ON SCIENCE

Posted by Kim Carr5sc on June 30, 2015

It has been over a week since the Liberals released a consultation paper responding to the Chief Scientist’s September 2014 position paper, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Australia’s Future.

Apparently critical consultations on Australia’s STEM future are not worth even a media release or being placed on a Minister’s website under the Abbott Government.

Perhaps the Liberals are worried that publicising their piecemeal excuse for a policy will just remind voters that only Labor truly understands the importance of STEM.

The Department of Education and Training has also failed to upload the paper onto its “current reviews and consultations” webpage – a worrying sign that, once again, an important reform has fallen victim to a ministerial demarcation dispute.

The sad fact is that the Liberals’ chaotic and compromised approach to science is letting the nation down.

Having sought to cut more than $3 billion from science, research and innovation over two successive Budgets, the Abbott Government simply has no credibility.

Labor is the only party that is proudly committed to investing in science, research and innovation to build and sustain the jobs of the future.

Labor has a plan to help our children and industries prepare for the changing economy:

Coding in Schools – ensuring our kids have the opportunity to learn the language of computers from an early age;

STEM Future Workforce – giving 100,000 young Australians the opportunity to graduate from STEM degrees without a HECS debt, with a focus on incentivising students from under-represented groups to get STEM qualifications; and

Smart Investment Fund – supporting great Australian ideas to become new businesses with access to early stage venture capital funding.